The Rebels
by Jade Nocturna
Summary: Vampires and humans used to coexist in harmony. But when the blame need to be placed for the deaths of a Hunter and a Vampire, both sides declare war on each other. The Court is falling apart, and the Hunters are rising up again. Unless Eriko and her friends can stop the Hunters and Vampires from destroying themselves, all will be lost for their world.
1. The Rebels

It all started with what should've been a simple trip to the store. It wasn't even my turn to go—it was supposed to be Mineo's but the little tyke managed to trick me into going for him. I really need to stop falling for cute things.

I took the ferry from the island and fixed Taimen's jacket over my shoulders. He'd made himself pretty clear that if I was to stay with his family, I had to keep my…condition a secret. It wasn't as easy as he had made it seem.

We decided that the best way to keep me from being ousted as a female Vampire would be to disguise myself as a male Hunter. Out of all the laws that the Council has set for the city, male Hunters have the least restrictions: they have no curfew and are free to go into any part of the city they desire.

I don't mind disguising myself as a boy. Not saying I _like_ cross-dressing, but I understand the necessity of it in this case. Besides, I personally feel that things like gender or species don't matter. When people get caught up in things like that, that's when the rebellions begin. When they try to determine a person's greatness based on those things, that's when problems start. What's most important is what's _inside_ a person—their character is what truly determines their greatness.

But it's not like I'll ever be able to tell the world that. I'm not a Royal or a part of the Council—the closest I'll get to the Council is through Taimen, and since I'm not a part of his actual family, I have no say in anything—I'm just a commoner.

"Are you gonna buy something, boy," cried an angry shop owner, "or are you just gonna stand there?"

I guess the disguise works. I pulled out the list that Sage had given me and peered at the items. I saw a variety of foods, but none of which I actually needed to buy. "Do you have any papayas?" I hate papayas, but Sage is pregnant—very _obviously_ pregnant—and she is craving them.

The old vendor seemed even more annoyed at me for asking such a question. He tossed a finger up into the air and drew attention to a sign above his head. "We sell meat and vegetables. Do you _still_ think I have any papayas?"

I turned around and walked away from him. I didn't have time to waste arguing with a crotchety old man. A pregnant lady was counting on me, and I had a good book waiting for me at home.

It wasn't _my_ fault, anyway. I'd only been here for three weeks, and this was my second time going out into downtown Sai City. It was different every time I came here, but it never ceased to be amazing.

Vendors yelled over each other as they tried to attract the attention of shoppers like me to their carts. A few kiosks even offered entertainment while they served you. I stopped to watch a vendor as he spit fire from his mouth.

At first I thought he was a Vampire—Vampires aren't allowed to sell their wares in this area—but a second glance at his mouth told me that I'd been wrong. I was mesmerized by his trick as I tried to figure out his secret. Hunters and humans aren't infused with magic like Vampires are, so how had he managed to pull that off without harming himself?

I was so busy trying to figure out the trick that I didn't realize I was _being_ tricked—at least, I didn't realize it until the person who was pickpocketing me accidentally wiggled my wallet.

"Hey," I cried as he grabbed my wallet and disappeared into the crowd. I was careful not to use my Vampire speed to catch up with him—it was a real effort. Instead, I managed to find the man again. "Stop him," I pleaded with someone as I ran harder.

No one helped me. I remembered that I was no longer surrounded by kind people like Taimen's family, but wounded animals who were more likely to give me up for their own skin instead of helping me.

The shaggy haired man jumped around, trying to lose me. He led me into the Vampire section. A chill settled over me as glares turned toward us. Though I was a Vampire myself, I didn't feel comfortable with all the looks my fellow kinsmen were giving me.

I had stopped paying attention to where I was going anymore. In one quick movement, the man disappeared from my sight, and then I found myself tripping over a stand. The sound of breaking glass reached my ears as my hands scraped across the ground.

"Oh, now you've done it," said a pair of voices at the same time.

I sat up and turned to see twins glaring down at me. Their fiery red hair burned almost as brightly as their beautiful hazel eyes. They crossed their arms and looked behind them as a smaller boy made his way up to me.

"Aw, it looks like you've broken our special vase," he said to me with a pitiful—but somewhat adorable—face. The ferret that sat on his shoulders stared me down. "That's a problem, isn't it, Takeo?"

The giant he was referring to gave the slightest nod of his head. "Yeah," he said in a deep voice that filled me with fear. His stoic expression made it hard to determine what he thought of me at that moment.

"What's going on here," said an officer as he entered the scene. He glanced down at me in disgust and then turned toward the others.

I looked down and realized that my hands had been cut on some of the vase's shards. "I'm so sorry," I told them all as I stood up. "I'll pay you back, I will." _With what_, I thought to myself. _That thief got away with my money_.

The twins laughed. Though they sounded similar, I could hear the slight differences in their voices. Maybe it was because of my Vampire hearing.

"How can you," said the one with his hair parted on the right.

"From the looks of you, you can't possibly hope to afford the price of this vase," said the other twin who had his hair parted to the left.

"You don't know what I can afford," I told him.

"How much was the vase priced at," the officer asked.

The twins smiled devilishly. "Eight million yuons," they said together. "We were going to use that vase in order to help out with the rebellions before this _Hunter_ decided to do otherwise."

"No," I told the officer. "That isn't what happened."

"Yeah, I'm sure," the officer told me as he spun me around and placed a pair of handcuffs on my wrists. "I've had it with you Hunters and your rebellions and whatnot. Let's take a little trip downtown, shall we?"

I could've easily gotten away from him, but I didn't. Instead, I decided that I would use my one phone call to ask Taimen to bail me out. He would be upset about having to come fetch me from jail, but I think he would understand once I explained the situation.

The officer shoved me into the first jail cell that he could find and locked the door. "You stay put," he told me, as if I was going to go anywhere else. "Chief Botan will want to have a word with you before you go. And speaking of going, if you need to, the bucket's in that corner over there."

I turned toward the corner he'd indicated and frowned at the smell. I could tell that someone—probably a _couple_ of someones—had used the bucket before and the police department hadn't bothered to clean it out.

I sat on the bench with my wrists chained in front of me. It wasn't entirely painful, but it wasn't a position I would've liked to have been in for a while.

Luckily for me, Chief Botan came quickly. She frowned at me and opened the cell door. "Come with me," she ordered before she walked down the hall. Obviously, she wasn't worried about me trying to escape or attack her. Not that she should've been; I could almost smell the Vampiric power coming off of her.

Whoever she was, she was powerful. And maybe dangerous. By the looks of her, she was probably both. She was a person who was to be as equally admired as she was feared.

She sat me down at the end of a long table and pointed a recorder to my mouth. "Okay, Hunter," she growled through her fangs. "Here's how this is going to go. I'm going to ask you a few questions about the rebellion, and you're going to answer me. And if you don't…" Her fangs extended.

Sweat built up on my skin. I had nothing to tell her. Hopefully she would see that. Vampires as powerful as her can sometimes tell when people are lying to them.

"Let's begin. Where are the Hunters meeting? We know they're underground, but we don't know where." She stopped and looked at me as if I was supposed to tell her more.

I couldn't. "I don't know where they are. Honestly," I added as her frown settled into a glare. Her eyes changed from a dark grey to a fierce red. "I haven't been here long enough to know anything."

"How long have you been here, then?"

"Three weeks."

"That's plenty of time to get to know things around here."

"No, really, I don't know anything. I live on the island with Taimen and Sage Kawaguchi."

"Impossible," she growled. "I know the Kawaguchis. They have children, but only three—and the boy isn't old enough for you to pass as."

"Ask them," I told her.

Her eyes narrowed. "What's your name?"

"Eri Fujioka." I had to remember to shorten my real name. Otherwise, it would be obvious that I was a girl. "I'm telling you the truth—I don't know anything."

Chief Botan slammed her fists down on the table so hard that I swore it was going to break. "But you see the problem is that I don't think you are telling me the truth. I think you're a good liar, and you're using your connections to—"

"Chief Botan," cried an officer as he burst into the room.

"What," she roared.

"Someone has offered to post bail for the Hunter."

Already? But I hadn't even had a chance to call Taimen yet.

Chief Botan sighed heavily. "Well, it looks like your story just might check out," she told me. "I'll ask Taimen if what you say is true."

"It isn't Taimen, Chief," said the officer.

"Then who is it, then?"

That was a great question. I followed them out into the lobby and felt my mouth drop down in surprise at who I saw.

Six Vampires stood before me with their arms crossed over their chests. I know that as a Vampire, we're supposed to be "outrageously beautiful creatures", but this is a little ridiculous. Among them were the twins, the giant, and the smaller boy that I'd seen before. I looked up at Chief Botan, but she seemed just as surprised as I was.

"You posted bail for this young man," she asked them.

A blonde Vampire stepped forward. The others obviously regarded him as their leader. "Yes. We realized that it was just as accident, and we decided to keep it from getting too serious. No harm was done." He smiled at the chief.

His smile didn't seem to faze her. She was just as rough with me as she had been before. She took off my handcuffs in the most painful way and then threw me towards the boys. "I'll be watching out for you, Fujioka." She gave us all a stern look and then shooed us out.

I couldn't believe my luck! Now if only I could find my wallet again…I stopped walking as we turned the corner and told the boys, "Thank you for bailing me out. That was kind of you. If I am ever needed to repay that kindness, please let me know what I can do."

"Will you do anything we ask," said the blonde leader.

"Of course," I said slowly, hoping that I wasn't getting myself into something horrible. I know there are Vampires out there who like to feed on Hunters.

"I'm so glad you said that," he told me with a smile. He snapped his fingers and the boys formed a circle around me. "Have you ever heard of the phrase, 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do'?"

Of course I had. That phrase was popular several centuries ago. What did that have to do with anything that was going on right now?

"We've decided that in order for you to pay off your debt and our kindness, you will join our group."

"What," I laughed. This was too unreal. And just when I thought my luck had started to change! "What group?"

"We are the Rebels," he told me. "Six beautiful Vampires who were so bored with their lives that they began a club to help better the lives of others."

"We fight the war in our own way," said the twins.

My breathing felt irregular. I didn't want to be a part of the war, and now I was being forced to. "I won't do it," I told them. "I'm sorry, but I can't. There must be some other way."

The blonde leader shook his head. "This is the only way. And besides, you already promised."

I cursed myself for making a promise before knowing what that would mean.

"Don't worry," said the small boy with a large smile. Being this close to him made me realize that despite his height, he was still taller than me. "It'll be fun!" He held out his ferret to me. "I'll even let you play with Pabu," he told me.

Pabu scrunched up his nose and made a face at me. Then, it sneezed. It was a cute and adorable sneeze, like that of a kitten.

"How cute," I whispered as I locked eyes with the creature. I realized that the small boy was staring at me weirdly, so I turned away from him and Pabu.

"You've got some pretty large eyes," said the twin with his hair on the right.

"Yeah," said the other one. "Such a feminine face you have for a boy."

I turned away from them too. I was a little unnerved at how close they all stood to me. One of them was bound to discover my secret soon.

"Eri Fujioka, right," said another tall Vampire as he spoke up. He'd been a part of the group the entire time, but this was the first thing he'd said. He pushed his glasses up his nose and glared down at me. "You moved in with Taimen Kawaguchi and his family three weeks ago, yes?"

My heart stopped. "Yes. How did you—"

"There's nothing that gets past us. We can get our hands on any information, so don't underestimate us. Oh, and while you're with us, should you think to use your…abilities on us—"

The giant grabbed me and lifted me into the air. "Bad idea," he warned.

A small cry escaped my lips as he slammed my back against the wall behind me. I also noticed that his hands were dangerously close to my breasts. If _anyone_ was to discover my secret in this group, it'd be him.

I caught a glimpse of a red flush across his cheeks before he dropped me back to the ground. I stood up and tried to think of a way I could talk myself out of this situation.

"So," said the blonde as he stepped forward again. "Do you understand the conditions of our agreement?"

There _was_ no way to get out of this. "Yes," I whispered, defeated. How was I going to tell Taimen that I had been arrested and forced into some type of fraternity all in one day?

"Good. Now for introductions," he told me as the boys lined themselves up.

The small boy with the ferret stepped forward and gave me another one of his giant smiles. "My name's Honey."

I looked around at the others, not sure if his name was supposed to be a joke or if he was serious. No one laughed or said anything otherwise, so I assumed Honey was telling the truth.

The giant behind him muttered, "Mori." And that was the end of that. I guess he doesn't speak much.

"I am Kasai Osamu," said the devil with glasses.

The twin with his hair parted to the right said, "I'm Keiji."

"And I'm Hiroshi," said the twin with his hair on the left.

"And I," said the blonde leader, "am Taoreta." He clapped his hands together. "And now that we've been introduced, it's time for you to go on your first assignment."

Already? I hadn't even had time to settle into this. "What's my first assignment?"

"You were in the market place for a reason. We need supplies back at base."

"You want me to get things for you at the _Vampire_ market?"

"We need these things from the Hunters' side," said Kasai. "Obviously, we aren't able to buy things from there." He handed me a list of things they required.

"That's why we're counting on you to buy them," Honey cried as Pabu circled his shoulders.

"So get to it, slave boy," said the twins with an evil smile.

"And how do you expect me to buy all of this," I asked them after I looked down at the list. I remembered that I was supposed to be buying things for Sage.

"You came to the market place without money," Kasai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course not," I told him indignantly. "It was stolen from me when I got here."

"Stolen," Taoreta repeated. "How much money did you have?"

"Taimen gives me an allowance of ten thousand yuons each week." I looked up and realized that the boys were giving me strange looks. "It may not mean anything to you guys, but that's a lot of money for me to lose."

"Then we shall find it for you," Taoreta promised me. "Kasai, loan Eri some money. Hiroshi, Keiji, I expect you to find the man who stole our slave's wallet. Honey, Mori, I need you to…_retrieve_ our slave's wallet. And Eri, we're counting on you to get this job done." He snapped his fingers and led the others out.

Kasai shoved a wad of paper into my hands and left with the others.

Could this be any more unreal? I looked up at the sky as I walked back to the Hunters' market. Was my mother really watching over me with the ancient spirits? And if she wasn't, could she start now?

After reading all the signs of the shops, I was able to complete the list easily—the old vendor didn't seem too pleased at my return. None of the items on the list seemed necessary: coffee, candies, toilet paper? These weren't things that I would deem "necessary" for people fighting in a _war_.

Well, they _did_ say that they were fighting the war in their own way. I shifted the bags in my hands and inspected the wad of cash Kasai had given me. Even though I had already spent over eight thousand yuons, there was still a pretty significant amount left. I couldn't help but wonder if he would end up adding more to my debt because of this shopping trip.

I groaned and trudged along to the Vampires' market. It was at that moment that I realized the Rebels hadn't given me their whereabouts. I didn't know when I would see them again or where I was supposed to meet them.

"Great," I muttered. I decided that the best place to chance by them would be the alley they'd left me in. I ignored the stares and dirty looks I got from the other Vampires and found the alley again. To my disappointment, they weren't there.

I placed the grocery bags down and crossed my arms as I waited in the alley. I thought that the Rebels had been playing a joke on me, but then I realized that if it was a joke, they probably wouldn't have given me their money and sent me to the market unsupervised.

"Move, move," cried a boy as he bumped into my shoulder and raced past me. He didn't stop to apologize or even check if I was okay.

I looked up and caught sight of the man's shaggy hair. I was immediately reminded of the man who had stolen my wallet. Without thinking, I got up and chased after the man.

He realized I was onto him and tried to lose me behind the buildings. All it did was confirm that this was the same man who had stolen my wallet earlier.

This time I chased him into the park. By this time, he was tired and was starting to slow down—but _I_, as a Vampire, was barely breaking a sweat. I grabbed his arm, pulling him to the ground.

He struggled against me as I tried to find my wallet. My fingers told me that it was in his jacket pocket. When I tried to wriggle my wallet back out of his pocket, he pulled his feet underneath me and pushed up.

I flew into the air and landed in the pond behind him. I blinked through the water in my eyes and looked up in dismay, expecting the man to be far away. I was surprised at what I saw.

Mori had grabbed the guy by the scruff of his neck and was dangling him in the air; Kasai was counting through my wallet; Taoreta held his hand out to me to help me up.

"You're not really a fighter, are you," said Hiroshi to the man.

"I didn't expect that much from a Hunter," Keiji said with a cruel smile.

"That's enough, Hiroshi, Keiji," said Taoreta as he helped me to my feet. "Honey, Mori, escort this man to Chief Botan. I'm sure you'll find that he has more than one offense against him."

I walked over to Kasai, who still had my wallet in his hands. "Thank you for finding my wallet."

He kept it just out of my reach. "Where are the groceries that we asked you to buy?"

"Oh," I said as I thought about the whereabouts of the groceries. "I left them in the alley."

Taoreta looked up at the twins and smiled. "Hiroshi, Keiji, can you two go and retrieve them?"

The twins groaned, but did as he asked.

"Kasai," said Taoreta evenly. "Would you join me back at the room? It would seem that Eri is in need of some new clothes."

"That's really not necessary," I started.

"Nonsense!" he cried. "Even though we consider you as our slave, you are still a member of the Rebels, and we will take care of you."

Obviously, I wasn't getting out of _this_ either. I followed them out of the park—they told the authorities that I was clumsy and had tripped into the pond—and into the Vampire residency. We passed the apartment buildings that I had expected them to turn into and made our way toward a giant mansion.

"_This_ is the club's _room_," I asked uncertainly as we passed through the gates.

Taoreta smiled and nodded at some workers who stopped to acknowledge him before returning to their jobs. I imagined the same fate would be waiting for me after I got a change of clothes.

"I guess I forgot to mention," said Taoreta with a large smile, "we're not just devastatingly handsome Vampires. We also happen to come from unfathomably rich families. My family owns a multitude of houses—we use this one for our club activities."

I frowned and muttered, "Is it really right for you guys to act like this whole thing is just some after school club? Don't you take the war seriously?"

"Don't mistake our attitudes for negligence," Kasai warned me. "We take this war just as seriously as everyone else."

"But in our own way," Taoreta declared with a raised fist. "But don't worry, Eri. Even though you are a Hunter, I'm sure you'll come to see things our way. After all, you're still a boy."

My frown deepened. "Things like being a Hunter or a Vampire—or even being a boy or a girl—don't matter. No matter what I am, I'm still _me_, and my opinion is my own."

He stopped and stared at me, as if he was really thinking about what I had just said to him. Then, he laughed and left to get me a change of clothes from his room. Kasai got me a towel and led me to the bathroom upstairs.

I waited for him to leave before I stripped myself down. The bandages that I used to press down my breasts were so drenched that they fell to my feet when I tried to fix them. I used the towel to dry my body and replaced my camisole and underwear. I laid Taimen's clothes out underneath one of the personal driers and tilted the other personal drier so that it was aimed at my face and hair—I know they're rich, but who needs more than _one_ personal drier?

I took a moment to look at myself in the mirror. My hair was already starting to grow out again—another one of the curses of being a Vampire. Female Vampires naturally have long hair. It wasn't meant to be short. I have to cut it every night at seven, or it'll grow out again. And if it _does_, Sage will never let me cut it again.

A gasp sounded from behind me as the door to the bathroom opened. I regretted not locking the door now—I thought they would've knocked before entering. Taoreta dropped the clothes that he had carried in his hands and stared at me with a red face. Behind him were the other members of the Rebels.

I reached over and wrapped the towel Kasai had given me around my body. If I was embarrassed, I would've blushed; but I wasn't, so I didn't. Why should I have been embarrassed? _They_ were the ones who walked in on _me_.

Taoreta looked at me as if he couldn't believe it. "E-Eri?"

"Yes," I said as I looked into his eyes.

"You're a girl?"

"Biologically," I told him. "So, pretty much."

"I see," he said slowly, obviously still stunned by the revelation.

"You've finally realized it, Tao," said Hiroshi.

"It totally slipped past him!" Keiji said with a smile as he leaned on Hiroshi's shoulder.

"I've known from the beginning," said Kasai with an evil smirk.

"Why didn't anyone ever tell me," Taoreta raged.

I stepped forward, despite the fact that I was in a towel. "I'm very sorry for surprising you."

"Why did you allow us to treat you like a guy?"

"I don't have a problem with being treated as a guy. I was _dressed_ like a guy."

"But don't you care about how you looked?"

I shrugged my shoulders, but kept a firm grip on my towel. "I don't really care about my appearance." I caught a glimpse of my wallet in Kasai's hands. "Oh, I wanted to thank you guys for helping me find my wallet. And Taoreta, thank you for the way you chose to handle my debt. That was really cool of you." I smiled at him to emphasize the meaning of my words.

Taoreta nodded briskly and raced downstairs so that I could change into the spare clothes. Kasai smiled at me, pushed his glasses up to his nose, and said, "_This_ is going to be interesting."

**A/N: Hey, guys! So this is a TECHNICALLY a crossover (but kinda not at the same time. I didn't really know where to put it, so I put this story in the "regular" category). Basically, you'll still be falling in love with our favorite OHSHC characters, but the storyline's been mixed between OHSHC and ATLA:LOK. Oh, also, it's from the perspective of "Haruhi" herself.**

**Speaking of Haruhi, sorry that her name (Eri, in this case) doesn't start with the same letter like everyone else does. When I researching names, I wanted to keep them all from the same culture. Unfortunately, there wasn't another "h-unisex" name that really felt right for her. Bear with me please, but I chose "Eri-short for Eriko in this case" for her name.**

**I know this story is a little unorthodox, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway. If not, I hope you enjoy other stories, then, and thank you for at least looking through my first chapter long enough to get down to here. **

**I'm trying to get my story updates on a schedule-I have a lot-so I'm thinking that I will update these on Mondays from now on. Hopefully, this chapter will make you WANT to wait for updates. If not, again, enjoy other stories.**

**Thanks! Bye! :-D**


	2. The Job of Being a Rebel

Taimen was angry when I returned home. It's almost funny to see him get angry. He's bald and has a large goatee, so when he turns red, it's really only from the tip of his nose to the top of his shining scalp. I don't laugh, though, because I know that he's serious and wants me to take it seriously as well.

"I got a call from Chief Botan this afternoon telling me that you had showed up in one of her jail cells. A _jail cell_!"

I didn't "show up" in a jail cell; I was brought in. And I was only in there for a total of five minutes.

"Then, you disappear for hours, and don't even bother to let us know that you planned on being gone that long. Look outside, Eriko. The sun is _setting_."

I didn't plan on being out this long either. I'm waiting for a moment when I can tell him about the Rebels and the events that followed.

"And on _top_ of all that, you didn't bring home the groceries that Sage needed."

I would have, if the list had not been destroyed by the pond water. Like my bandages, the list had dissolved into nothingness.

"I would've overlooked your tardiness if you had at _least_ brought them like you promised. But you didn't! How do you explain yourself?"

I've never understood the purpose of someone listing the events of your day when trying to punish you. I already know what happened in day—hence the fact that it is _my_ day—but I think pointing that out to someone like Taimen will only get me trouble.

Behind me, I knew that his children were around the corner, listening in on his lecture. Any moment now, they would run away, giggling, as their mother scolded them for being nosy. She would then join me and Taimen in the living room.

"Oh, Eriko," said Sage as her kids scurried away in a fit of giggles. She rushed into the room—as fast as a woman who is eight months pregnant _can_ rush—and wrapped me in her soft arms. "I'm so glad you're back."

Sage and Taimen are the _definition_ of the phrase "opposites attract". For starters, they're from two different species: Taimen is a Vampire, and Sage is a Hunter. Taimen is disciplined, stern, and a bit of a traditionalist—despite the fact that he has married a Hunter. Sage is kind, understanding, and open-minded.

"Where did you get those clothes," Sage asked me as she went to stand beside her husband. She interlocked her fingers with his and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Probably from the money we gave her to go shopping," Taimen answered bitterly.

"Actually," I said slowly, trying to think of how I should word this. I decided to follow Taimen's example. Whenever he tries to explain something to me, he starts off with a question. "Have you ever heard of the Rebels?"

"I know of them," said Anna, the oldest, as she and her siblings appeared in the room. I understand why Sage wishes that there was another Hunter in the family—the children almost frighten me when they just show up like this.

Her younger sister Hisa bounced up and down on her toes. "The Rebels are a group of male Vampires in the city, right? They fight in the Revolution."

"Well, they don't fight," Anna corrected her gently. "They—"

"They're bad influences on kids like you," said Taimen sternly. His face was red again.

"Yeah, guys," said Mineo, the youngest with a large smile that was missing its two front teeth. "They're a bad influence!" He raced around the room, much to his parents' annoyance.

Taimen sighed. "What about them, Eriko?"

And that was how the story started. I told them everything. I told them about the Hunter who had stolen my wallet; the misunderstanding that landed me in Chief Botan's jail cell; the conditions I'd been forced to adhere to in order to repay my debt; and the group's revelation that I was, in fact, a female.

Taimen sat down on the couch and placed his head in his hands. "Is there anything you _didn't_ do today, Eriko?"

Well, I didn't get the groceries.

"I can't allow you to go on with this. I will pay the debt myself. How much did the vase cost again?"

"Eight million yuons," I told him in a quiet voice.

His facial expression reminded me of my own reaction when I had heard the amount. He sighed heavily and looked to Sage for advice. She seemed to be at a loss for words too, though. I knew what they were thinking: there was no way they could pay that off. Taimen and Sage lived a pretty financially stable life, but it wasn't so stable that it could afford to effortlessly pay off eight million yuons.

"Taimen," I said evenly. "I gave them my word, and I am nothing, if not a woman of my word. I promised to pay off the debt this way, and I will do it. I won't ask you guys to pay it off for me."

Sage smiled and placed her hand on Taimen's shoulder. "That's very mature of you, Eriko."

"Sage, we have to do _something_ about this," Taimen fumed.

"Taimen, I think we should just let her do it. Eriko's already resolved to handling the matter herself."

After a few moments of silence, Taimen sighed again and said, "Fine. Let's just hope that this whole thing will be resolved quickly. I don't want Eriko to get into any more trouble." He shot his children a stern look. "Let's all get to bed _now_."

The kids and I hurried to our rooms. I pulled out the photograph of my mother from my wallet and stared at it under the moonlight. I scratched my head as my hair suddenly returned to its original length. I pulled my hair into a ponytail, put my mother's photo away, pulled the covers up to my chin, and fell asleep.

When I woke up, the sun had already risen past the horizon. I remembered that the Rebels had asked me to meet them at the mansion at dawn. With a groan, I got myself ready, packed a lunch, and brought a bag to carry the clothes they'd given me.

"Eriko, where are you going dressed like _that_," Sage wondered with a disapproving look at Taimen's jacket. I stopped by the kitchen to pick up my blood supplements. I didn't like the idea of taking my daily blood form a pill, but it was better than taking a life. Plus, it helped to ease the temptation.

"The Rebels asked me to meet them at their place," I told her

"I thought they knew that you were a girl. Why do you have to continue wearing my husband's clothes?"

Because Sage only had maternal clothing now, Anna's clothes were too small, and I had sold my clothes to help me travel to Sai City. "Um," I said slowly, trying to think of a way to word all of this.

"Never mind," she told me. "I'll have to remember to take you shopping later. Do you have any idea when you're going to be back?"

"I have no idea. They're very unpredictable."

Anna swallowed her pill and said to me, "You're going to see the Rebels, aren't you? Mom, can I go with Eri?"

"No," said Taimen suddenly as he appeared in the kitchen. "You are to stay at home with your mother and help her out around the house. It's bad enough that I have _one_ of you mixed in with all of this." He straightened his tie and kissed Sage goodbye. "Eriko, come with me. You can take my ferry."

I waved goodbye to the family and followed Taimen to the boat that led from his island. Though Taimen and Sage were gentle people, there were many in the city who did not agree with their relationship. A guarded boat was used to transport us safely form the island to the mainland.

If I were able to use my Vampiric powers, I'd walk across the river that separates us. But Taimen wants me to use my powers as little as possible.

That's why it took me thirty minutes to get to the Rebels' place. I walked—like the Hunter they thought I was—to their mansion and waited for someone to open the door for me.

The twins answered my call. "Oh, it's you, Eri. You're late," they said with a frown.

I frowned back at them. "Forgive me for not being used to coming somewhere at daybreak."

"Do you have a problem with the way we do things," Kasai asked as he stepped out of the shadows of the room upstairs. He smiled and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Be careful what you say—you owe us eight million yuons."

Honey pushed past all of them and smiled at me. "Eri, you made it! Come and eat breakfast with us!" He pulled me up the stairs and into the dark room.

I remembered to turn on the light—adjusting to a Hunter's life was difficult. Sure enough, I had interrupted the Rebels' breakfast. I couldn't name half of the foods on the table.

"Originally, we had planned for _you_ to get our breakfast," said Kasai. "But seeing as you didn't show up on time, we were forced to improvise."

_This_ was improvising?

"But don't worry, Eri. We'll find something else for you to do to make up for that."

"Eri," cried Taoreta with a smile as he stood up. "I'm glad you could join us. Could I interest you in anything?"

I glanced at the table and decided that I was better off sticking to the foods that I knew well. "No, thank you."

"Then what would you like? Say the word, and I'll have the cooks prepare you anything!"

"Anything?" I thought about the foods that I had _yet_ to try at the market, but had always intrigued me. "There's this fancy-looking tuna at the market. I wonder—"

"You've _never_ had otoro before?" he exclaimed.

The boys crowded around me. All of them seemed so surprised that I had never had such a thing before. I think Kasai was shocked that I hadn't known the actual name of the food.

"Someone," cried Taoreta, "bring Eri some otoro quickly!"

"No, no," I shouted, remembering all the people who seemed to be hard at work already. "I don't want it right now. It's too much of an inconvenience for others. I pushed them all away from me, giving myself room to breathe.

Taoreta spun me around by my shoulders and looked down at my clothes. "Why are you still in those clothes? I'm running out of patience. Eri, I want to see you as a girl!"

"You didn't see enough yesterday? Pervert!"

"I'm not a pervert," he promised. "I just don't understand it! The only ones who know that you're a girl—outside of Taimen and his family—are us. Why keep your gender a secret?"

"It's not that I'm keeping it a secret. I don't have any other clothes to wear."

"That's easy to fix. Give me your measurements, Eri. Daddy will buy you some new clothes immediately!"

"That's really not necessary," I told him quickly. "I don't really care if I look like a dude."

Taoreta let out a long groan. "Girls should _never_ refer to themselves as a '_dude_'!" He turned toward the others, who were starting to give him weird looks. "Mommy! Eri's using dirty boy words!"

I looked up at the others for help, but they were too busy with something else.

Keiji crossed his arms and said, "I'm sorry, but who is 'Mommy'?"

Kasai sighed. "Based on club position, I'd say that's me." He looked just as embarrassed as he sounded. I would've felt bad for him, if I didn't know him to be such a devil.

"Look," I said, changing the topic, "didn't you say that you had some errands for me to run?"

"You're not running them alone, Eri. You're _joining_ us," said Taoreta with a smile.

His personality changed that quickly? "What are we going to do?"

He shushed me with a finger to my lips. "Daddy won't spoil the surprise for his dear daughter," he told me.

"Are you insane or something?" I asked him as I pushed him away from me. "You keep saying you're my father." I didn't really have a father figure in my life growing up—I don't feel comfortable with Taoreta jumping into this position. If anyone would be allowed to refer to themselves as my father, it'd be Taimen. He's the closest thing I have now.

We ended up going to the stadium to watch a Hunters' match. I hate these types of things. It's just senseless violence, if you ask me. During the day games, teams of Hunters pair up with each other and try to battle themselves out of the ring. At night, teams of Vampires come out and do the same thing.

The twins and Taoreta were really into the matches. They cheered and participated with the rest of the crowd in every game. Honey and Mori left to get snacks. I'm still thoroughly confused by the relationship between the two of them. No one's explained why they're so close, and I'm not sure what to think about it.

Kasai seemed to be the only one who was just as bored as I was. "You don't enjoy these things, Eri?"

"Not really. With all the fighting that's been going on, they might as well call it 'combat practice' instead of 'games'." Some of these moves definitely seemed like they'd been repeated in some of the street brawls.

Kasai smiled and pulled out a notepad. Even though they all refer to Taoreta as their leader, I'm pretty sure Kasai is the brains behind this whole operation.

"Is this all we're going to do today?"

"Pretty much," he said with a shrug. "For your sake, you'd better hope Taoreta keeps coming up with ideas."

"Because if he doesn't…?"

"Then it's _my_ turn to give you something to do."

His spiteful personality reminded me of this character from one of the fairy tales Mom used to tell me. "Shadow King," I whispered as I looked away from him. Honey and Mori returned, and not long after that, the tournament finally ended. We shuffled out of the stadium and formed a congregation off to the side. Once again, I was bored by the talk of the games.

The cry of a girl drew my attention to Kasai. A girl around my age had apparently fallen at his feet. Since he made no effort whatsoever to help her up, I took it upon myself to do so.

"Are you okay," I asked her.

"Yes," she told me as she dusted herself off. "I'm fine, I just—"She stopped as she caught sight of something to my left. "It's you," she whispered.

I followed her gaze and found that she was staring at Kasai. He gave me a confused look and then turned to her. "Me?"

"Yes," she cried. "Kasai Osamu!" She threw herself at Kasai.

Osamu? As in the family that basically runs Sai City itself? I glanced at Kasai sideways. _Now_ I understood why he was in charge of managing.

"I'm sorry," said Taoreta as he stepped forward. "You know Kasai?"

She stopped hugging Kasai and whipped her hair across my face as she turned on Taoreta with a frown. "Of _course_ I know him, you idiot! He's the son of Yoshio Osamu, the famous business man. He's also a part of the Rebels!" Her frown deepened into a glare. "_You_ should be second-in-command, not him," she told Taoreta.

"How do you know Kai," Honey asked with a raised hand.

"I'm his fiancée," she shot back quickly.

Kasai shared the same look as me again—this time it was confusion. I looked back at the girl. She was a very pretty brunette who was thin and lacked curves. I didn't have much to say about her outfit—there was a _lot_ of skin showing—and she had randomly added a pink bow to hold her hair back. I couldn't imagine Kasai being engaged to this girl.

"His fiancée," I repeated.

"Yes! We haven't ever met before, but I know him as if we have! He's the kindest, gentlest, most compassionate person there is!"

The twins exploded with laughter. I had to keep from laughing myself. "Are you sure you've got the right person," I asked her.

"Of course I do! I know him better than anyone!"

Realization seemed to strike Kasai. "Could you perhaps be Rena Himura?"

"You know her," I asked.

He nodded. "Her father is one of _my_ father's best clients." Kasai pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled at her. "Shall we take this conversation somewhere else?"

"Of course," she swooned as she weaved her arm through his.

When we got back to the mansion, Taoreta immediately went and began sulking in a corner. "What's with him," I asked the Rebels.

"He's sulking because she criticized his leadership skills," said Hiroshi.

"Come on, Tao, you've gotta let go of that," Keiji told him.

Kasai sent Rena off to the bathroom to freshen herself up and then turned to all of us. "Like I said, her family's important to mine. Please try not to aggravate her."

Taoreta raced out of his corner and up to Kasai. "Mommy, how could you have kept this from Daddy? Why didn't you tell me that you were engaged?"

"I never said that I was engaged to her. Like she said, this is the first time I've met her. And would you _please_ stop referring to _us_ as if _we're_ married?"

"I still don't know how you can expect me to be nice to her when she's so mean to me."

"You don't have to be," said Kasai. "She really only needs one of us."

I knew where this was going before they even turned to look at me.

Taoreta placed his hands on my shoulders and smiled. "Eri, we'll leave her to _you_, then."

"What?"

"Consider this as part of repaying your debt to us." With that, the Rebels sped away until it was only me and Kasai left in the foyer.

"Wait," I called after them, but it was too late. Rena was already down the stairs. I was to be stuck in the house with an obsessed Vampire fan girl.

"I want to make some cookies for you, Kai," she told Kasai.

He smiled at her. "I would be honored." As he turned toward me, his smile disappeared. "Right, Eri?"

"Right," I told her.

Kasai leaned in and whispered, "The kitchen is just through those doors at the end of the hallway. Everything you'll need to cook will be in there. Don't make more than a dozen. If you do, I'll know and I'll add it to your debt." He smiled at me. "Have fun," he said before he disappeared as well.

"Right this way, Rena."

She followed me to the kitchen. "Are there spare uniforms anywhere? I don't want to get my clothes dirty."

I had trouble finding some, but I finally succeeded. The uniforms were really cute—but oddly form-fitting. Just what kind of service did these workers provide exactly?

"This won't do at all," Rena said with a frown. "I'll need help putting this on. Where are the other female workers?"

"Actually, I can help you," I told her.

She gave me a gentle smile. "That's very kind of you, but I don't think Kai would appreciate it if another boy saw me indecent."

"I'm a girl, actually," I told her in a quiet voice.

Her eyes widened and her face turned apologetic. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to assume that you—I mean, it's just that clothes led me to believe—Why are you wearing those clothes?" she demanded as I helped her into the uniform.

"I don't have any other clothes to wear. This belongs to my benefactor's husband."

"Why hasn't your benefactor taken you to buy new clothes?"

"We haven't had time yet."

She helped me zip up the back of my uniform. "Well, I'm going to give you my number. And you give me a call when the two of you finally decide to go, okay?"

I was thankful that she wasn't on this side of me to see me roll my eyes. "Of course," I told her, remembering that Kasai had asked—ordered me to be nice to her. "Shall we get started on those cookies?"

We worked together to find all of the items we would need. It took us a while to get things organized because I wasn't familiar with _this_ kitchen, and she wasn't familiar with _a_ kitchen. I could tell that these cookies would probably not turn out that great.

I decided that this would also be a cooking lesson for her. Since I was only allowed to make a dozen cookies, I decided to split all of the ingredients so that I could make six and she could copy me.

Making the cookie dough part was pretty easy. I told her how I had gotten mixed up with the Rebels—she seemed almost jealous of me for some reason. However, when we started making the cream it proved to be a difficulty for her.

"Eri," she asked me as I placed our cookies in the oven. "Can we put sugar in the cream?"

"Yes," I told her as I tightened my bandana around my head. "How's the chocolate?"

"Look," she said proudly as she pointed to the pot on top of the stove. "It's melting properly."

It was _not_ melting properly. I hurried to the stove, lowered the heat, and took the pot off of the eye. "It can't be heated over direct flame. Chocolate should be melted using a water bath."

Rena wasn't paying attention. She was staring out to the space behind me. "Um, I think the cream…"

I turned and realized that the cream was beginning to foam and bubble over. Once I got it to simmer down again, I allowed her to take over. "So," I asked as I watched over the chocolate, "what is it that you see in Kasai?"

"He's warm to everyone," she said with a gentle smile. "He would never ask anything in return, because he secretly enjoys the company of others. This is because he is actually very lonely." Her face contorted in a frown. "You think I'm wrong again?"

"If that's what you see in him, then who am I to correct you? Everybody is entitled to viewing another person the way that they choose to."

Her frown disappeared and melted into another smile. "I didn't think you'd understand, Eri."

"Why? Because you thought I was a guy?"

"No, because you're a Hunter."

"Why do those things matter to you guys? I know that the fights have broken the peace between Hunters and Vampires, but that doesn't mean that everyone has to follow their examples. I think Hunters and Vampires are more capable of understanding each other than either species knows."

I was interrupted suddenly by the sound of a door closing. I looked up just in time to barely catch a glimpse of six heads as they disappeared behind the doors. I started to walk over and investigate, but the timer on the oven started to go off. I pulled out my tray of cookies and started to take out Rena's, but she stopped me. "If we let them sit longer, they'll start to burn," I warned her.

"They don't look dark enough. I want Kasai's cookies to be perfect. I'll take them out when I think they're ready."

And _that_ was how her cookies ended up being burnt on the bottom. She tried to cover up the taste with the cream and chocolate, but I'm not sure that'll work the way she wants it to.

After we cleaned up the kitchen, Rena put her cookies on a lovely plate. "Do you think this is presentable," she asked me as she stepped back to admire it.

"Of course," I told her with a smile as I placed mine in a small box. Anything that I didn't eat, I'd take home to the kids.

I followed her out of the kitchen and led her to the dining room upstairs. She held the plate up and smiled at the Rebels. "I've made cookies!" she cried happily.

"Oh, isn't she ladylike," Taoreta asked with a wave of his hands as he came to meet us at the door. "I'm so moved by your generosity!"

Her smile immediately turned into a frown. "I didn't bake these cookies for you, you phony prince."

Even for a Vampire, Taoreta moved unnervingly fast to the corner opposite of the room. I'm still amazed by his sudden personality changes.

Rena skipped up to Kasai and held the cookies out to him. "They're a little burnt," she told him apologetically, "but I know you'll appreciate anything I make, Kai."

"Rena," said Honey as he and Pabu bounced up to her. "May I try one of your cookies?" He picked one up and shoved it into his mouth. I watched as his face contorted with disgust. "She wasn't kidding. These cookies really _are_ burnt."

Mori appeared behind Honey with great speed. "Mitsuaki, stop eating those." He took the cookie from Honey's mouth and threw it on the ground. "They're probably bad for you."

Rena turned on them fiercely and began to chase them out of the room. I stepped to the side and tentatively tasted one of my cookies. "I think what I made tastes better," I mumbled to myself with a smile.

"Eri," said Hiroshi as he appeared before me. He cupped my chin and tilted my head back until I was looking at him. "Let me see." Before I could say anything, he bit down on the other end of the cookie and snapped it off by pressing his forehead to mine.

On the other side of me, Keiji wrapped his arm around my shoulder and used his other hand to hold my head still. "Oh, Eri, you have cookie crumbs on your face." He leaned down and ran his tongue from the base of my chin to the top of my cheek.

I shrugged them away, finished the cookie, and wiped the saliva off of my face. When I turned around, I frowned at Keiji and said, "You know, if you had just told me, I would've gotten them off myself." I switched my gaze to Hiroshi. "And if you wanted one, just say so. There's plenty right here."

Taoreta cupped the sides of my face and pulled me closer to him. "Your reaction is all wrong! Other females wouldn't react so calmly!"

"Please stop sexually harassing me," I told him as I pushed away from him.

"Sexual harassment," he cried. "If _I'm_ harassing you, then these two are twice as guilty!" He turned on the two of them with an accusing finger. "What were you thinking? Don't you know where the lines between men and women are?"

I sighed and walked away from them. I made my way over to Kasai, who hadn't even touched his cookies. "You didn't like them either?"

"I'm not a fan of sweets," he said with a shrug.

I smiled and said, "So much for knowing you, huh?"

"The same could be said about you, Eri. I didn't know you were so close with the twins." He smiled too, but his smile was much darker than mine. It seemed to go beyond simple teasing.

"I'm not," I replied with a frown. I don't plan on being close with any of these guys. I just want to finish my service and repay my debt.

"How did everyone enjoy the cookies," asked Rena as she came back into the room with a large smile.

In the second it took me to blink, Kasai stood up and placed the uneaten cookies in my hands. "They were great," he said with a smile. "Thank you."

"I knew you would love them! I think we should all go for a walk now. Wouldn't that be lovely? A nice stroll through the city at this time of day would be wonderful."

She was starting to ask a little much of Kasai. I could tell that it was starting to annoy him. Still, he agreed, and we ended up following Rena through the city. The only good thing that really came of the walk was that I got to discover new places.

As we started to make our way back to the mansion, Rena joined me in the back of the group. "Eri, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I told her.

"I want Kai to like me. I know he does, but I don't think _he_ knows. How should I help him figure it out?"

"You can't force someone to like you. The only thing you can do is be yourself." In _her_ case, it'd probably help if she was _less_ of herself. I think her personality is a bit too big for him.

"Yes, we've all heard _that_ before. But I was thinking that maybe he would realize how important I was to him if something bad happened to me."

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that maybe I can find some guys to kidnap me."

"Rena," I hissed as I pulled her to the side. "That's a horrible idea. You could really end up getting hurt."

She smiled at me. "No, see, that's just the thing! I'd be _paying_ them to _act_ like they're going to kidnap me. Then, when Kai comes in and saves the day, they can stop pretending."

"And what if they get hurt in the process?"

"That's why I'll be paying them. It's compensation for any injuries that might occur during the act."

I shook my head. "I still don't think this is a good idea, Rena."

"Eri," said Taoreta suddenly. "I think we're done for the day. You can go now, if you'd like. Meet us here tomorrow at daybreak again, please." He and the other boys went into the mansion.

Rena walked me to the ferry. The entire time, she talked about her plan and how she knew that Kasai would come and rescue her. When I got to the boat, she said, "Tomorrow morning, I need you to lead the boys to the Vampire market. I'll be waiting for you guys, okay?"

"Rena? Be careful," I told her.

"There's nothing to worry about," she promised me before she disappeared. I wasn't so sure about that.

The next day, I managed to get to the Rebels' before daybreak. Like Kasai had promised, I was supposed to get their breakfast. Fortunately, my lack of knowledge on _their_ type of food allowed me the perfect excuse to suggest that we go to the market.

"Will this be a trip to the Hunters' market," asked Taoreta with an indulged smile.

"No," I said with a frown. "You won't find anything _you're_ looking for there."

"Speaking of not finding what we're looking for," said Hiroshi.

"What's with this coffee you brought us," said Keiji. "We can't figure out how to make it."

I sighed. "It's instant coffee."

"What is instant coffee," they asked me.

Taoreta sped over to me. "Isn't that the kind that just needs hot water?"

"You bought us the legendary commoner coffee," asked Kasai, for once, looking intrigued.

"You bought so much for such a small price," cried Hiroshi.

Keiji said, "So the rumor that commoners don't even have time to grind their own coffee beans is true."

I frowned at them all. "I'm very sorry for not buying you the high grade coffee beans that you all are used to. When we go to the Vampires' side today, I'll buy what you want."

"Wait!" cried Taoreta. "I'll drink it."

"Don't do it because I've already bought it. I'll just take it back home with me."

"I want to drink it! Promise me you'll make it for us the moment we return from the market."

"Fine," I said, annoyed. "Now, can we go, please?" I was embarrassed to have to buy the things they were asking for at the Vampire market—they each asked for something different! What was worse, they had to compare the price and quality of their food at _every_ store that sold it. Damn rich people. I found myself hoping that what Rena was planning came quickly.

Fortunately, it did. As we passed by an alley, we heard a girl scream. We turned and saw Rena _obviously_ fake-running from a couple of guys who were _obviously_ fake-chasing her.

"What's the matter…girly," said the one with red hair.

"Yeah," said his brunette companion stiffly. I bet Rena had made them read a script beforehand. "We just want to play…girly."

"Someone, help me," Rena screamed dramatically. "Anybody!" She "happened" to glance over at us. "Kai!" She ran up to him and threw her arms around his waist. "Won't you help me?"

"Certainly," he said, surprising me. At least, it surprised me until he said, "I suggest the next time you rehearse this, you try to compensate for the enthusiasm of the other actors. They seem rather dead compared to your animation. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to get back for breakfast. I hope the show goes well." He smiled and turned to leave the alley.

"Stay right here," I told Rena, who looked devastated. I raced after the boys and caught up to Kasai. "That was a little harsh, don't you think?"

"What was, Eri," he said with a shrug.

"Don't tell me that you didn't know what she was doing. All she wanted was a little attention from you. Would it have been so hard to do that for her?"

"Haven't I done enough for her?"

"No, you haven't, actually," I told him. "I know that Rena can be a little…overwhelming, but she means well. The _least_ you could've done for her was—"

"What she did back there was annoying and unnecessary. I didn't see anything that would've profited me from participating in that silly skit. I'm not the person she thinks I am, Eri. I can't and _don't_ want to be."

"I'm not saying that you have to be that person. I'm just saying that maybe you should've thought about her feelings the way she's been thinking of yours. Everything she's done, she's done it because she wanted to please you. She may have a deluded vision of who you are, but the gestures didn't lose their sentiment." I turned around.

He sped in front of me and gave me a sharp glare. I could see a hint of red in his eyes. "Where are you going? I believe I said that we were going back for breakfast. And as our errand girl, _you_ have to make it."

"And I will," I said sternly, holding my ground against him, "just as soon as I check on Rena." I pushed past him and walked back to the alley. No one else followed me.

I found Rena as she was paying the two boys. She must've heard me, because she said, "I guess my plan didn't work out the way I thought it would. Kai thought it was a joke."

"Rena, I think you have to accept that you might have Kasai's true personality confused."

"I don't have it confused! I can't," she whispered. She finished dealing out the yuons to the two men. "I can't have him confused."

"Hey," said the brunette. "What is this? This is all we get for helping you out with that stupid skit?"

She flashed angry eyes at him. "Had you been more realistic, the skit wouldn't have been so stupid, and you would've been paid more! I'm not paying you for such a mediocre performance." She spun on her heels and started to walk away from them.

"Hold on just a minute, _girly_," said the brunette with a growl as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him and his friend.

"You think we're stupid," asked the ginger with bared fangs. "We know who you are, Rena _Himura_. If _you_ won't pay us, we know someone who will."

"Let go of me," cried Rena as she struggled against him. She clamped her teeth down on the brunette's hand, freeing herself as he jumped back.

"Damn you," he cried as he shoved her with his other hand.

I forgot that I wasn't supposed to be using my Vampire powers. I sped over and caught her in my arms, but the weight of Rena as she was knocked into me forced me into the brick wall behind me. I wish being a Vampire meant that you didn't feel pain.

Stars danced before my blurred vision. I could hear Rena screaming, but I couldn't make out what she was saying. My head hurt so bad that I couldn't even feel it when it moved. Random water was running down my face, and I wasn't sure where it was coming from.

"Eri," cried a male's voice suddenly. I looked up and managed to make out the golden hair atop his head—Taoreta. He rammed his fist into the red head's face and slammed the brunette into the wall by the scrunch of his shirt. "Were you the punk that pushed her?"

"No," said the brunette nervously. "I didn't do it on purpose."

"Get out of here," he growled. He released the brunette and the two friends disappeared almost immediately. Taoreta helped me to my feet and kept his hands on my shoulders to steady me. "Eri," he said softly. "Are you all right?"

I nodded my head as my vision began to clear up. "Yeah, though I feel a little silly about crying."

He laughed softly. "Even when you are dressed like a boy, you can't change the fact that you are indeed a girl, Eri."

"Is everyone all right," asked Kasai as he and the others came around the corner.

Rena squealed with pleasure. "Kai, you came to rescue me after all." She ran to hug him again, but he stepped away from her. "Kai, what's wrong?"

"I can't allow you to be around us if you're only going to do things that will endanger the lives of my club members. That irritates me."

I could tell that Rena's world had been shattered again. She shook her head with a deluded smile. "This isn't right. This is the part where you're supposed to tell me not to worry about it and then gently pat me on the head!" Tears raced down her face as I cleared mine. "Why would someone as kind and affectionate as you—"

"That's not Kasai," said Taoreta gently.

"I…I don't believe that," she cried as she fell to her knees in anguish. She looked up at me as I joined her on the floor. "Is imagining such a bad thing?"

"Not necessarily," I told her. "But if it keeps you from truly getting to know someone, it can be. Even though Kasai isn't the person you'd dreamed he'd be, is that so bad? I think if you gave his true personality a chance, you might end up liking that side of him more." I smiled at her and helped her to her feet.

Rena took a deep breath and turned to face Kasai. "I want to apologize for the way I've been behaving, and thank you for indulging me earlier. But now I know the truth, and I can stop with my reckless actions. I'd like to get to know each of you for who you truly are, not who I make you out to be."

Kasai smiled—he actually _smiled_—and said, "Well then, now that this is settled, will you be joining us for breakfast?"

"What," she asked, surprised. "But I thought—"

"I said I couldn't be around you if you were putting us in danger. You're not endangering us _now_, are you?"

Rena might as well have had little hearts in her eyes. She squealed and nodded her head eagerly. And _that_ was how we ended spending _more_ time in the Vampire market so that I could accommodate for her tastes as well.

She _did_, however, help me cook them. This time she managed to be better in the kitchen. "Eri," she said as we started to take the trays up to the boys. "I want to thank you for your advice. I'm sorry for judging you earlier, too."

"I forgive you," I told her kindly as we entered the room. As I had promised, I made everyone instant coffee. Rena had a hard time swallowing it, but the boys loved it—especially Taoreta.

"Eri," said Taoreta quietly as he made his way over to me. He handed me a bag as his face reddened. "You wouldn't give me your measurements, but I wanted to buy you something anyway."

I reached inside and pulled out a large pink bow that was similar to Rena's. "Thank you," I said as I flipped it over in my hand, "but I don't think I need this."

"You do," he insisted. "Now that you have Rena around, I'm sure you'll want to embrace your feminine side a bit more. So, I plan for you to quickly grow your hair so that you can wear this bow along with your new girl clothes."

I groaned.

"Please, Eri. Daddy wants to see his pretty daughter in some girl clothes!"

"I already told you that Sage will be taking me shopping soon. And would you _stop_ acting like we're related? I'm starting to think you really might be insane." I watched as he sped over to the corner again and crouched in it.

I made my way over to Kasai. "What made you change your mind about Rena?"

"Don't go assuming things, Eri. I haven't changed my mind at all. I'm merely…broadening my horizon."

I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms at him.

"Besides, it was the least I could do."


	3. The Revelation

The Rebels say that I'm allowed _one_ day off each week—and even then, I have to check in with them that night so that I can get the information I'll need for the next day. Of course, the day that I chose to have as my "vacation" day, I ended up spending most of it shopping with Rena and Sage.

Sage was delighted to know that I had a girlfriend who was interested in helping me shop. Anna and Hisa wanted to join us, but Taimen thought that it would be better for them to stay at home and focus on their training.

As the children of a Vampire and a Hunter, Anna, Hisa, and Mineo all go through intense training to better their abilities and learn from both cultures. I've joined them a few times in their studies, and have learned a little bit. It's difficult for me to follow because Hunters have such a different training technique than Vampires, but I've managed.

Rena didn't take the ferry to the island like normal people would have. She didn't walk over the water either. No, she had her own _boat_ to take her out here. Imagine Sage's surprise when she realized that Rena was another one of my rich friends.

"She'll still allow me the honor of buying your clothes, won't she," said Sage quietly, though I was sure Rena could still hear us.

I gave Rena a warning look. "I'll make sure she does. Rena knows we're only going to be going to the strip mall downtown, anyway."

Rena made a face. I get the feeling she doesn't like Hunter—I'm sorry, she uses the word _commoner_—stuff. She refuses to try the instant coffee anymore and doesn't join us on when we go to the Hunters' games. Still, she seems to tolerate me and Sage, so I guess she's making some progress.

"One day, you _must_ let me take you shopping on _my_ side of town," she whispered in my ear as I helped Sage on board.

I nodded, not expecting to have to keep that promise anytime soon.

"Did the Rebels say you had to be back at a certain time?" Sage asked as Rena's boat set off toward the shore.

"No," I said after a moment's thought. Who knows what would happen to me if I missed another deadline for them?

"Good," said Rena with a knowing smile at Sage.

"Hey," Sage called from the dressing room. "You two still out there?"

Rena and I, both checking out some tops on a nearby rack, walked back to the dressing room area. "Yeah, we're here," I answered.

We were four hours into our shopping spree, and I was actually having a great day so far. The only negative blemish had been seeing the alley that the Rebels had claimed me on.

Sage stepped out of the dressing room modeling a pair of jeans. "Okay, tell the truth, girls. Do these make my butt look good?"

"Turn around," I told her, trying not to laugh so that I could accurately answer her question.

"Are we supposed to be looking at the one in the front of the back?" Rena asked, and grinned.

"Is that a slam because I'm pregnant?" Sage looked over her shoulder as if to see her butt.

"They look great," I interjected, shooting Rena another look as Sage disappeared back into the dressing room.

"Hey," Rena said. "Considering I'm lacking in one department," she glanced down at her chest, "I don't pick on body parts. Unless they're really bloody and then—"

"Shh," I said, realizing a couple of teen Hunters were lurking nearby.

Rena, not appreciating being hushed, frowned. The frown added to the overall intimidating don't-screw-with-me air she carried on her shoulders all day. Not that the air was intended for me or Sage. Nope. It was obvious that the Hunter teens here had it out for Rena. I hadn't experienced this side of it yet, but Sage had mentioned it over dinner a few times, so I knew the stories had merit.

"Shh, why?" Rena asked.

I cut my eyes to the two girls. Rena's frown deepened to a full-blown scowl.

One of the girls started moving closer, and I sent up a quick prayer to my mom that this wasn't going to spoil our day.

"Hi, my name's Rosie Logan," the cute redhead said, looking at me. "Are you new in town or here with one of the…locals?" The way she said _locals_ led me to believe this wasn't going to end well.

"Locals." I put a bit of extra nice into my voice, hoping to ward off any trouble.

"Which kind?" the tall blonde standing behind Rosie asked, and she cut Rena a cold look.

Nope, this wasn't going to end well.

"Both," Rena answered with attitude.

"_Fuketsu_," the blonde whispered to Rosie.

"What did you say?" asked Rena, her shoulders coming back as she took a defensive step forward.

Blondie grinned. "It means 'filthy'. It's the word we use for people who like to mix in with the filth of….the other kind. It's not personal."

"It feels personal," Rena growled.

Both Rosie and Blondie took a step back.

I shoved past my hurt feelings and said, "Nice to meet you. Bye." I motioned for them to leave with my hand.

Rosie shot Rena another calculating look. From the spark of fear in her eyes, I figured the girl wasn't all that stupid. She turned around, nudged her blond friend, and the two went their own way.

"You better tuck your tails and run," Rena muttered, pulling away from me.

"I could have given them the worse talking to," Sage said angrily as she came out of the dressing room.

"Oh, I could have done much worse," Rena snarled.

"But you didn't. You both showed an amazing amount of restraint. I'm very proud of you." I smiled at my own words, hoping they would smile as well.

Rena shot me a huge frown. "Don't you ever just lose it? I mean, don't you ever just wanna rip somebody's heart out and beat them over the head with it?"

She probably could've found a better analogy. "I get mad, yes," I said, and grinned. "Don't know if I've ever wanted to bludgeon someone to death with their own heart, but I have my moments." I could never tell her, though, because that would be giving away my secret.

"Yeah, what do you do when you're really pissed? Frown at someone?" Rena chuckled.

"Yeah," Sage piped in. "But have you seen her frown? It's very effective—especially against my children."

We all laughed.

An hour later, after shoe shopping and trying on a few more pairs of jeans, we moved to the lingerie section—even though Rena said it wasn't _really_ lingerie because this was _her_ sections "cheap panties." Because I'd already spent close to a thousand yuons, I headed to the clearance rack. We all dropped our packages and browsed through the array of underwear.

"Do either of you wear thongs," asked Sage as she held up a red stringy pair of panties.

"Not me," I said. "I like boy shorts."

Rena groaned loudly. "We're gonna get you out of that habit. We're getting you that thong."

I shook my head. "Personally for me, wearing a thong is like flossing your butt." We all burst out laughing again.

After the giggles subsided, we went back to checking out bras.

A store attendant walked up. "Would you like me to measure you to make sure what size you are," she asked me.

I looked up at the store clerk and back at the four bras I held in my hands. "Uh, no…thank you. I think I can figure it out."

"Okay, but it's very important you get the right size."

I nodded. "I will."

"It will only take a minute," the attendant said, a tad more insistent that time.

"I know…but I'm fine. Thank you," I added. The woman's insistent tone on trying to help me be more feminine reminded me of Taoreta. It was unsettling.

The woman's expression said that I was making a mistake, but she walked off.

"I've never let a stranger handle my girls," Sage whispered, and then giggled. Honestly, she's just as crude as any other teenage girl.

"I think the ol' biddy just wanted to see your boobs." Rena hissed, proving my point about crude teenage girls.

I elbowed Rena and tried not to snicker. "She was just doing her job."

"She was eyeing your boobs like they were candy. And don't even pretend like there's nothing for her to look at." She eyed me enviously. "How did you manage to cover up all of _that_?"

"Bandages," I told her evenly without looking down at my own chest.

"_Lots_ of bandages," Sage chimed in. "I wasn't her size until I was pregnant."

I personally didn't feel like mine were that big—not that I wanted them to grow, either. They were only a C-cup.

Rena cupped her A-cup boobs. "I'm sure Kai won't complain, though."

"I'm going to try these on," I said quickly, wanting to leave the conversation before it got any weirder. I studied the bras I held. "Can you hold these?" I handed Rena my bags.

"Here, try this one on, too." Rena held a bra out in return.

"I don't like black bras."

"Yeah, but I'll bet someone will." She grinned and wiggled her brows.

I rolled my eyes, but I snatched the bra from Rena and headed off to the dressing room. Behind me, I heard Rena and Sage laughing.

Trying on bras reminded me of the Goldilocks fairy tale. One felt a bit too big. One was a bit too lacy, and one, the black one, was a bit too…sexy.

Now I have to decide which ones to take home. I glanced down at the pile of bras and had just slipped the strap of my old bra up onto my shoulder, when I heard:

"I like the black one best."

The deep male voice that came from behind me had my heart leaping into my throat. My eyes shot to the mirror.

Before I saw his mask, I saw the blood.

He stood right behind me. Big splotches of red color stained his shirt. Even his silver mask was soaked in it. His eyes flashed a vivid red color. His mask was molded into the shape of an evil smile.

Panic gripped my throat and blocked off all oxygen and verbal communication. I wouldn't have screamed even if it hadn't. If he was really there to kill me, he would've done so by now.

And seeing as he hadn't yet…

I swung around, ready to try and fight my way past him.

He wasn't there. My gaze shot back to the mirror as if only his reflection had been real. He wasn't there either.

My gaze shot to the open door to the dressing room. It had been closed. He'd really been there.

"Was someone here," Rena asked as she appeared in the dressing room. Her canines appeared sharp and threatening under her raised upper lip.

I nodded.

Rena careened forward when Sage rammed in her back. "What happened?"

I felt violated. It was worse than when the Rebels had walked in on me changing. _I like the black one best_.

His words rang in my ears. How long had he been watching me try on bras? How long had he been watching me in general?

"Was someone here," Sage asked.

"A Vampire," Rena confirmed. "You okay?"

I nodded again. "Did he leave?"

"Yes."

Sage handed Rena her wallet and the bras. "Go pay for these while she gets dressed."

Rena took off. Sage looked back at me. "Are you really okay?" I could tell that Teenage Sage had left. The Sage I knew had returned.

"I think I'm mad enough to rip out someone's heart and beat him with it," I whispered as I pulled my shirt over my head.

"Oh, sweetie," said Sage as she wrapped me in a hug. She pulled back just as Rena returned with my purchases. "Let's go home."

That's what we did. The security at the store promised to search through the tapes and find the man for us, but I doubt they would. It's nearly impossible to catch Vampires on anything visual. If _I_ didn't even see him, their cameras sure wouldn't.

I didn't let the others know that the issue still bothered me—in fact, I even managed to join in their jokes and laughter. When we finally got back to the island, Sage invited Rena to stay for dinner.

Rena was obviously a little unsettled by the idea, but after she met the kids, she quickly agreed. While I put my clothes away, Rena had Anna and Hisa perform a mini-fashion show with the clothes that Sage had bought them.

Taimen didn't seem to mind Rena. He was very kind and courteous to her, despite the fact that he normally would've counted her as one of my "trouble-making friends." He even allowed her to come and join in on our training together.

Rena left soon after Taimen went to put Mineo to sleep. I looked over at the girls and said, "I should probably be getting over to the Rebels now."

We stopped as the sound of thundering footsteps reached the walls outside. I pushed the girls behind me as a tall and dark figure knocked down the giant stone doors in one punch. It took me a moment to realize who it was. "Mori?"

"Ooh," said Anna, relaxing at my tone. "Eri, is _that_ the handsome leader who drives you crazy?"

I've _got_ to stop telling her things.

"Does he drive you crazy in a bad way, or does he drive you crazy like you _like_ him," asked Hisa with a large smile.

I rolled my eyes and turned to face Mori. I was surprised to see that the others weren't with him—I had at least expected Honey to here, too. I was also confused because I didn't see why he had chosen to break down our doors. I'd probably be the one who'd have to fix that.

"Mori, I was just on my way to see you guys." I noticed that he wasn't really looking at me. It was like he was looking _through_ me. "What's wrong?"

"Mitsuaki…disappeared," he said in his deep growl.

I assumed that Mitsuaki was Honey's real name. I ushered the girls back inside and then followed Mori to the bank.

"Eri…" said Mori quietly.

I looked up just in time to see him as he leaned down and picked me up with one arm. I don't remember him saying my name before now.

"Close your eyes."

I did as he asked, but I could still feel the rush of the wind as it whipped past my face. When I opened them again a few seconds later, we were at the mansion.

It looked different at night. Scarier.

"Eri," cried Taoreta as Mori and I walked inside. "Where were you? We thought you'd been kidnapped, too!"

I pushed away from him. "It was my day off, remember?"

"We really need to get you a cell phone," said the twins together.

Kasai wrote something down on his notepad.

"Anyway, what's this about Honey disappearing?"

The air of relaxation around them stiffened. They all suddenly became very serious as we discussed the matter. Apparently, Honey hadn't returned to the building since late that afternoon.

"Maybe he went home, too," I suggested. It wasn't so far a stretch to believe that I was the only one who was allowed to not come on a day.

Mori shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Honey wouldn't go anywhere without telling Mori," said Kasai.

Again, I was confused about the relationship between those two. "Have you guys tried calling him?"

They all nodded their heads.

"Well, let's go out on a search for him. I'm sure we'll find him this time."

"We've already looked everywhere," said Hiroshi, annoyed.

"Where else can we look," Keiji asked me in the same tone.

I frowned at them both and said, "You've looked everywhere that a _Vampire_ can look. It's time for you to think like a _Hunter_."

If it wasn't for Mori being willing to try, I probably would've been shut down. I quickly told them my plan. Every morning in the park, groups of Hunters in the Rebellion protest about the inequality they have in Sai City and foretold the day that they would all "repay them."

Last week, I'd been handed a flyer, inviting me to "The Revelation." And if I was correct—which I was pretty certain I was—I still had it on the floor of my room somewhere.

"We get to go to Eri's house," Taoreta hissed as we crossed the waters to the island again.

I groaned softly. "This is _not_ a visit to my place. We're just here to get the flyer and borrow some clothes." I snuck them through the broken door to the training ground; from there they had no trouble jumping up into the window of my room on the second floor.

Mori tried to help me find the flyer, but he kept tripping over things. I'd never seen him so clumsy before. Usually, Mori moves like a lion. A graceful lion, that is strong and sure of his footwork. I could tell that he was really worried about Honey.

He tripped so much and made so much noise that finally I had to tell him that I could handle it on my own. My room wasn't even that dirty—I just couldn't recall where I had placed it.

As I searched for the flyer, I heard the sound of rustling paper. I turned and looked, mortified, as I realized that Taoreta and the twins were going through my shopping bags. "Hey," I hissed.

"You _did_ go shopping," cried Taoreta in a happy whisper. He started to finger through my lingerie bag.

"Not that one!" I lunged forward and snatched the bags away from them. It was too late. Taoreta had already managed to lift up the black bra that Rena had forced me to get. I stuffed the bags into my closet and found the flyer on the floor by my trash can. "Got it!"

Sure enough, the Revelation was a showing for tonight only. And it started in half an hour! I passed the clothes that Taimen had given me to the Rebels and helped them hide their obvious Vampire features.

When the twins questioned my ability in helping them keep their identities under cover, I raised an eyebrow at them. "I've been disguising myself as a _boy_ for the past month. If I can disguise my gender, I'm pretty sure I can disguise your species."

There weren't enough of Taimen's clothes for me—and I wasn't about to risk taking any from his room. I decided that now would be the best time to try out my new clothes. I returned to my room in a hat, a short-sleeved shirt, jeans, and ankle boots.

It didn't take us long to follow the flyer's directions to a back street in the middle of downtown. Two streetlights lit up a factory at the end of the street. One guard stood outside the door, letting people in if they showed him the flyer.

"I don't understand why we don't just sneak in normally," said Hiroshi.

I rolled my eyes. "Because they're more likely to notice unwanted guests than people who act like they fit in."

"And speaking of fitting in, aren't they going to think that it's weird that you're the only girl in our group," Keiji asked.

"Not if they think I'm with one of you," I deduced. I slipped my arm through Mori. Part of the reason was to keep him from falling anymore, and the other reason was because he was closest to me at the time.

"Eri, you didn't want to walk with Daddy," asked Taoreta.

I frowned and turned toward him and the others. "Shh! The more you speak the more chance you have of accidentally revealing your fangs." That is, unless you're me, and you're used to hiding them. "Zip your lips!" I mimicked the motion for them to follow.

"You're so cute," Taoreta and the twins whispered. I wondered how much time they actually spent around girls.

I shushed them again as we came up to the guard. He crossed his arms and frowned at us. "This is a private event. No one gets in without an invitation."

Kasai stepped forward and passed the man the flyer. He managed a lovely smile without showing any hint of his fangs. "Then that shouldn't be a problem for us."

The guard smiled at us. "The Revelation is upon us, my fellow brothers and sister." He stepped back to let us in.

The factory was much bigger than I had imagined. It probably could've fit one of the stadiums inside—and then some.

"I knew a lot of people hated Vampires," said Kasai, "but I wasn't aware of how many."

"Keep your eyes out for Mitsuaki," said Mori as he walked away from me. It didn't take long for him to trip down the set of stairs and hit the floor below us.

"We'll have a better chance of finding him if we split up," said Kasai.

"I'll go with Mori," I said quickly. Out of all of them, Mori seemed like my best choice. I figured the twins would want to stick together, so that would leave me with the devil, the lunatic, or the mute.

I followed Mori to the front of the crowd. "Mori," I said quietly. "You don't have to worry. We'll find him." I didn't know how he was going to respond to me, but I hoped he felt better hearing that.

Mori pat my head and ruffled my hair—reminding me that it would probably start to grow back soon. "Yeah," he mumbled softly.

Our attention was drawn to the stage as the lights dimmed above us. "Please welcome your hero, your savior," cried an unseen announcer, "Niro!"

From the depths of the floor, a man rose out from the stage. When he lifted his head and let the overhead stage lights shine down on his face, I felt my breath catch in my chest.

Even if I hadn't just seen him, I wouldn't have forgotten his face. He was the man from the dressing room.

But that was impossible. There was no way that this man could be the leader of the Hunters. He was a Vampire, wasn't he? He had to have been, to get in and out of my dressing room so fast.

Mori placed his hand on my shoulder. "Eri, are you okay?"

I could feel myself begin to hyperventilate. Anyone who saw me must've thought that I was just too excited to see him, because no one said anything to me. I turned away so that I didn't have to see him, and let the crowd's cheers for him drown out my thoughts.

"Eri," said Taoreta suddenly as he and the others appeared in front of me. "What's wrong?"

"I saw him today," I managed to choke out as Mori rubbed my back. I felt silly for reacting this way. "I've seen him."

"You've seen _him_? You aren't hurt, are you?"

"No. I'm not hurt."

"Did he say anything?" Kasai asked.

_I like the black one best._ "No," I said.

Kasai's stare deepened. "Now isn't the time to be lying."

I swallowed. "He didn't say anything important to this."

"Let us be the judge of that," said Kasai evenly.

The feeling of being violated hit strong again and the anger accompanying it welled up in my chest. "He said he liked the black bra best. I was in the dressing room."

Kasai's expression changed from demanding to empathetic in a split second. I didn't even know he knew _how_ to make that face. Taoreta seemed angry enough to spit, and the twins glared at each other as if they were silently arguing over the matter.

"Are you sure you're okay," said Mori. As usual, he was poker-faced, but I could tell that he was concerned about me. "He didn't…"

"I'm fine," I managed to say as I turned around and faced Niro again. The memory of his reflection in the mirror filled my head.

Mori slipped his hand into mine and gave it a squeeze as if offering moral support.

"My quest for equality began less than a year ago," said Niro as he stepped up to the mike. "It started when those wretched _Vampires_ tried to take my life. They failed, but they left a scar. I'm not talking about the one I have behind my mask. What they did only strengthened my desire for our equality!"

The crowd cheered again. I felt sick in my stomach.

"As you know, we have managed to maintain many footholds in Sai City, but it doesn't end there! We are winning this war, and _they_ know it! That's why the Court is searching for the Lost Princess! With their "king" gone, the Vampires know that they have been leveled with the rest of us. But we can stop them! With your help, I can take the throne and ensure equality for all Hunters everywhere! And when I take the throne, this war will end."

The crowd cheered once more.

"I know you've been wondering, 'What is the Revelation?' You are about to get your answer! Since the beginning of time, the Spirits have acted as guardians of our world. And they have spoken to me. They have chosen _me_ to usher in a new era of balance! They have granted me a power that will make equality a reality—the power to take Vampirism away…_permanently_."

"That's impossible," Hiroshi muttered.

"There's no way," Keiji agreed.

"This man is insane," Kasai said as he pushed up his glasses.

"Now for a demonstration," said Niro. "Please welcome Daito, the leader of a group of Vampires who like to steal from people like us. He is also one of the most notorious criminals in Sai City."

A gasp escaped my lips. I remembered him as well. He was the man who had stolen my wallet. "I thought he was in jail," I whispered.

"Not anymore, I guess," said Taoreta.

The crowd booed at Daito as Niro's Hunters brought out four more Vampires—at the end of the line was Honey.

"There's Honey," cried the twins, as if it wasn't obvious to the rest of us.

Mori and Kasai grabbed them before they managed to get to the stage. "Wait," Kasai hissed. "We can't fight them all. We need to be smart about this."

I looked back at Taoreta. "Well, aren't you gonna come up with a game plan, captain?"

"Daito has amassed a fortune by assaulting and abusing Hunters," said Niro. "But his reign of terror is about to come to an end. Now, in the interest of fairness, I will give Daito the change to fight for his Vampirism," he said as the ropes that held Daito were cut.

Daito smiled as Niro pulled out a silver stake. Even I was curious to see how this was going to turn out. Vampires are said to be gifted by the Spirits themselves—we have the power to control the elements around us. Getting into a fight with a Vampire is looked at as suicide—that's why we don't have matches with Hunters and Vampires together.

Still, if Niro was so confident that he could take on a Vampire, I guess I should be more concerned for Daito this time.

Fire exploded from Daito's fists as he aimed it toward Niro. Niro ducked and weaved underneath them, not even seeming to break a sweat. Niro quickly made his way up to Daito and bent his arm behind his back.

Before Daito even had a chance to try and move again, Niro shoved the silver stake into Daito's chest.

A flash of blinding light encased the room, and four giant screens displayed the scene below. I could see Daito's fangs shrink as he cried out in pain. The red faded from his eyes. His beautiful features melted away until he looked no different or more special than anyone else in the crowd.

"What—What did you do to me," Daito whimpered.

"Your Vampirism is gone forever," Niro declared. "The era of Vampires is over! A new era of equality has begun!"

The crowd began to cheer as the first person from Honey's row was forced onto the stage.

"Any ideas yet," I asked as I looked back at Taoreta.

"I think so," he told us. "See those machines?"

We looked up and saw the air conditioning units.

"They're powered by water and steam. If you and twins could create some cover, we can grab Honey without anyone seeing. And then, we get out of here."

"Let's go," said the twins as they dragged me off.

"Good luck," I whispered to the others before following the twins to the machines. My job was simple. Since they assumed I couldn't _really_ help them, I was supposed to be a distraction for anyone who might decide to come our way.

Wouldn't you know it, but I actually had to do something. Smoke had just started to fill the hallway when the guard from outside came around the corner. "Hey, you," he said to me as he walked up.

"Is there a problem, my brother," I asked in the most innocent voice I could muster.

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for a bathroom," I said automatically. "Think you can help a sister out?"

He pulled out a crowbar from his back pocket. Normally, someone would've backed down from him.

I wouldn't.

I remembered the training exercise Taimen had forced me to do weeks ago. It required me to weave my way through a maze of spinning objects the same way that a leaf would blow in the wind. I couldn't fight against it. I had to let go and watch their energy unfold before me.

And that's exactly what I did.

I ducked underneath the guard as he swung the crowbar down and grabbed his free hand. I had to use a little bit of my Vampire strength to knock him out against the pipes, but otherwise, he was going to be okay.

"Never mind," I said as he slumped down. "I'll figure it out myself."

Hiroshi whistled behind me. "Look who decided to get snippy today."

"Not bad, Hunter," said Keiji with a smile.

I rolled my eyes. "Did you guys get the cover going?"

"They sure did," said Honey with a smile as he appeared in front of me. "You guys did a great job!"

"Let's get out of here," said Taoreta as an alarm began to sound. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into him as he rushed me out of the building.

I guess they must've all gotten lost in their own cover. They did a lot of running around. It was either they got lost, or the Hunters were catching up to them faster than they had expected. Whatever the reason, we finally made it out.

Taoreta let go of my hand and hid us in a nearby alley. I guess he was hoping that the darkness would hide us all. "Is everyone alright?"

Honey nodded and patted the top of Mori's head gently. "Takeo, you did a great job of taking care of those guys."

"But you didn't take care of me," said a deep voice in the night before one of Niro's guards dropped down on us.

It was only that one guy, but he was giving the boys what for. With two large Tasers in his hands, the man managed to bring down both of the twins at the same time.

"Eri, get out of here," cried Taoreta as Kasai dropped to the ground. He pushed me toward the end of the alley. "Go!"

I started to run, but I stopped when I heard Mori cry out in pain. I looked back and realized that he, Honey, and Taoreta had fallen. The man wasn't even bothering with me because he didn't think that I was a Vampire.

Well, he was wrong about that.

"You _Vampires_ need to understand there's no place in the world for you anymore."

I sped up to the man and planted a kick in his chest. It sent him flying backwards into the factory. "I wouldn't count us out just yet," I told him.

I could feel my head burning with the weight of my hair as it grew back. The pain was so intense this time that I had to remove my hat to relieve it. The wind felt good as it ran through my hair like soft fingers in the night.

My friends—yes, I've actually begun to think of them as that now—managed to get into a standing position. "Eri," they all mumbled as a question.

I could imagine the reaction they would all have later, but at the moment, I had to finish what I'd started. I sped back over to the man before he could get up and broke his Tasers in two. "Looks like you won't need _that_ anymore."

"Who—who are you," he whispered, obviously winded from my attack.

I don't know what made me do this. Maybe it was because I was tired of hiding who I was. Maybe I was caught in the heroic moment. Or maybe, deep down inside, I really just don't have any common sense. "My name is Eriko Fujioka. And I am a _Vampire_."

A whistle sounded off behind me. "There they are," cried one of the Hunters.

I grabbed the man in front of me and threw him into his friends. While they were down, I went over to mine and channeled wind around us.

"Eri, what are you doing," asked Taoreta with a groan.

"Getting us out of here," I answered. I encased us in a ball of air and carried us up into the sky. When I knew that we had disappeared in the clouds, I took us back to the island. I didn't want to stay in the city for fear of Niro's men. I helped my friends into the living room and then found the first aid kits.

"Have you always been this good at bandaging," asked Kasai as I wrapped his shoulder.

"Only recently," I told him quietly. The air around all of us was quite weird since the whole Niro thing. "You get good when you have to take care of little kids."

"Forget that," said Hiroshi as he appeared in front of me.

Keiji appeared on the other side of him. "What we really want to know is—"

"How long have you been a Vampire," screamed Taoreta.

"Pretty much my whole life," I told him. It was like he'd discovered I was a girl again. "I'm surprised none of you figured that out before." I glanced at Kasai. "Especially you."

Kasai rubbed his temples in annoyance. "Are there any _more_ surprises we should be expecting from you?"

"Not that I know of."

"I can't believe you've been keeping this secret from Daddy for so long!" cried Taoreta as he shook my shoulders as if for effect.

I tried to get away from him, but he had tightened his grip since learning my secret. I tripped backwards over the first aid kit and hit the floor before I knew what was happening.

"Ouch," said Taoreta loudly as he sat up. "I'm so sorry, Eriko." He had begun calling me that since I had stated my full name.

I shushed him quickly as I tried to wiggle out from under him. "Would you be quiet? You'll wake up the kids."

"Or worse," said Taimen suddenly as he entered the room.

I didn't want to think of what the situation looked like, but it was hard not to. Here I was with six boys in the house—who happened to all be shirtless because I had to dress their wounds—and one of them had me pinned underneath him.

"Taimen," I said as a sort of informal introduction.

Taimen crossed the room in one fell swoop, grabbed Taoreta by the face, and slammed the young boy into the wall at the other end of the room. It was amazing because Taoreta didn't go _through_ the wall.

"Such restraint," I whispered.

Taimen wrapped me in a hug. It was odd, because I'm not used to hugs from Taimen. I wasn't sure if he was showing out because of my guests or if he really did care for me. "Thank goodness," he whispered. "I realized that you weren't in bed, and none of the kids knew where you were. I was just about to send out a search party. Are you alright?"

I shook my head. Obviously, introductions would come later.

"Did you find your friend?"

Honey waved.

"We were at the Hunters' rally, and we saw Niro. He can take away Vampirism—make us human."

"That's impossible," said Taimen softly as if I had said something silly.

But I hadn't. It had happened. "But I _saw_ him do it."

"I believe you," he said after a moment. "I don't know how he's achieved this power, but this means the Rebellion is more dangerous than any of us have ever known. No Vampire is safe."

I winced. "Speaking of Vampires—"

"I know," he said with a sigh. He stood up and glared at all of my friends in turn. "So you all know Eriko's secret now. I trust that if she is still going to be going along with all of…this, you will at least protect her from any harm this city has to offer."

"Of course, sir," said Taoreta as he pulled himself from the wall. "I'd protect Eriko with my life because I think of her as my own daughter!"

Taimen was silent for a long time. Then he looked at me with confusion. "This…_This_ is the boy you told me about? The insane one?"

Taoreta found his way to the corner.

The twins stood up and smiled. Though they were trying to be friendly, they didn't do anything but freak Taimen out because they were still shirtless.

"You know, sir," said Hiroshi.

"We were actually thinking of taking a little break from the city," Keiji finished.

"A break," Taimen repeated. "Where were you thinking of going?"

"To the beach," said the twins with devious smiles.


End file.
